VCU v. Virginia Union THIS THURSDAY!

Can you believe it’s basketball season already? It’s the time of year when VCU fans get to trade in their unsuccessful football teams, generally the Redskins and those college teams out west that have usually ended their seasons by now, and finally get behind a real winner.

Thursday is the day (7:30PM). VCU laces em up against our annual exhibition foe just across Lombardy St., Virginia Union. The Rams will take on the highly successful D2 Panthers of VUU for the 10th straight season in exhibition play.

While the oppenent may be familiar, there will be a lot of firsts for Ram fans in this one.

A first look at a Shaka Smart coached VCU squad. The first chance to see how our guys do without now NBA point guard Eric Maynor. And the first action in the black and gold by a lot of new Rams: freshmen Darius Theus, Issiah Grayson, Troy Daniels, and redshirt David Hinton, and transfers Jaimie Skeen from Wake Forest and Jay Gavin via Marist (technically his second if you include last years Black and Gold scrimmage).

It will also be a chance to see how Larry Sanders performs in a leading role for the Rams. Larry comes into his junior season with perhaps as much hype as even Eric Maynor had after dismantling Duke in the first round of the 2007 NCAA tournament (see: Mock Draft, NBADraft.net, projected 12th pick by the Charlotte Bobcats).

We hope you’re as ready as we at Ram Nation are for basketball season. Hope your favorite VCU t-shirt is pressed, starched and ready for 16 regular season home games. Hope you’ve got your season tickets or a good plan to get in the student line for the monster games VCU has lined up this year. Hope you’re ready for some “Havoc”.